Apparatus for fabricating welded wire fabric



5, 1946- T. H. WICKWIRE. JR 2,410,766

'AIPARATUS FOR FABRICATING WELDED WIRE FABRIC Filed June 18, 1943 3Sheets-Sheet 1 J 14M, yaw,

MOM

Nov. 5, 1946. "r. H. WICKWIRE. JR

APPARATUS FOR FABRICATING WELDED WIRE FABRIC Filed June 18, 1943 3Sheets-Sheet 2 V a a 4 u a ,2. 2., I9 r rrlll v,

aaulnaapnyvpnnpaaln l TTORNEY Nov. 5, 1946.

T. H. WICKWIRE. JR

APPARATUS FOR FABRICATING WELDED WIRE FABRIC Filed June 18, 1943 3Sheets-Sheet 3 'I'I'ORNEY 5 Patented Nov. 5, 1946 APPARATUS FORFABRICATING WELDED WIRE FABRIC Y Theodore Harry Wickwire, Jr., Ardmore,Pa., as-

signor to Theodore Harry Wickwire, J r., Sophie H. Wickwire, Roma A.Wickwire, and Hedge Wickwire, "doing business as a copartnership underthe name of Theowick Company, Philadelphia, Pa.

* Application June 18, 1943, Serial No. 491,210

1 V My invention relates to an improved apparatus for fabricating weldedwire fabric.

Heretofore it has been necessary to interrupt the feeding of the fabricduring the actual welding of the transverse wires to the longitudinalstrands. One of the objects of my invention is to make it possible touse a continuous feed of the fabric, the welding being performed betweenrotatingwelding wheels.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved feedingarrangement for bringing the transverse wires into position for welding,the arrangement being such that the spacing between the transverse wiresmay be varied in 'orderto produce a fabric of desired mesh.

A still further object of my invention is to make it possible to employa single electric transv former for furnishing the current necessary forwelding the transverse wires to a plurality of strands. Heretofore, ithas been necessary to provide a separate transformer for each strand dueto the fact that the welds between the transverse wire and the strandshave been made simultaneously and, if the welding points had beenconnected in parallel across the leads of a single transformer, therewould have been an unequal distribution of current between the differentwelds dueto the impossibility of avoiding different resistances. inaccordance with one embodiment of my invention the welds between asingle transverse wire and a plurality of longitudinal strands may bemade successively, whereby the entire output of the transformer isemployed for each weld.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing description considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of the specification, and of which:

Fig. 1 is a front view, partially in cross-section, of an apparatus inaccordance with my invention, certain driving elements having beenomitted for the sake of simplicity;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, the abovereferred to driving elements being shown;

Fig. 3 is a top view on an enlarged scale of a portion of the apparatusillustrated in the preceding figures; and

Fig. 1 is a top view of another embodiment bf my invention.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 through 3, reference characterIll designates a rotatably mounted shaft to which is secured a feedingdrum comprising a plurality of axially spaced wheels 11 Claims. (Cl.140-112) l2. Each wheel carries a plurality of magnets l4, which may beeither permanent or electromagnets. The radially outer end of eachmagnet is formed with a projecting portion l6 which extends slightlybeyond the periphery of the wheel, forming a shoulder on the forwardedge of the projection, the wheel rotating in a counter-clockwisedirection as indicated by the arrow i8. Suitably supported above thewheel [2 is a feed hopper 20 having an inclined bottom 22 which isadapted to retain a supply of transverse wires. One or more transverseplates 23 are disposed lengthwise in the lower end of hopper 20. Eachplate has a lower edge 24 which is parallel to and spaced from theinclined bottom 22 a distance slightly greater than the diameter of thetransverse wires, which assures that the wire lies in a single-layer. Ata similar distance beyond the lower edge of bottom 22 each plate isformed with a shoulder 25. A rotatably mounted shaft 26 carries aplurality of transfer wheels 21, each wheel being formed with aplurality of notches 28 in its periphery. As clearly shown in Fig. 3, theseveral wheels are fixed to shaft 26 so that the notches 28 areprogressively staggered. Shaft 26 is so located that the clearancebetween the peripheries of wheels 21 and the lower edges of bottom 22and shoulder 25 is less than the diameter of a transverse wire. Theupper end of an inclined plate 29 is disposed close to the peripheriesof wheels 21 slightly above the horizontal radii of the wheels, thelower end of the plate terminating just above the wheels I2 near thevertical radii of the latter. Shaft 26 is driven by shaft ill throughgears 30 and 3!, the ratio being equal to the number of magnets I4 ineach wheel 12 divided by the number of slots 28 in each wheel 21.

Arranged between adjacent wheels I2 is a plurality of upper weldingwheels 32. Each wheel is rotatably mounted in the forked end of apivoted lever 34 by means of a short shaft 36. The several levers 34 arepivoted at 38 to a suitable support, 40. The levers are urged downwardlyby means of springs 42 acting between fixed arms 44 and the levers.Members 46 are secured to arms 44 and are provided with slots 48 neartheir lower ends in which extend pins 50 secured to the levers 3.4.Thus; the members 46 and the pins 50 serve to limit the downwardmovement of the levers 84 under the influence of springs 42.

The welding wheels 32 are preferably made of a good conductor ofelectricity, such as copper,

and adjacent each wheel there is located a disc T of springs 88.Suitable bushings 88 of insulating material are provided between thearms 88 and the shafts 38, on the one hand, and the welding wheels 82and the brush discs 82', on the other hand, so as to preventtransmission of current to the arm 88. Each of the brush discs 82 isconnected in a suitable manner to a conductor 88 which is connected toone terminal of a suitable transformer 88.

Disposed beneath the feeding wheels I2 and the welding wheels 82 is abed plate 82 provided with a slot 88 extending for a short distance oneither side of the vertical center line of the feeding drums, and with aslot 88 disposed to one side thereof.

A shaft 88 is rotatably mounted in a frame 18 which serves to supportthe bed 82. A plurality of lower welding wheels 18 are mounted on theshaft 88. The periphery of each wheel is formed with a plurality ofprojections 18. Also mounted on the shaft 88 is a slip-ring 88 whichcooperates with a brush connected by means of a conductor 84 with theother terminal of transformer 88.

Rotatably mounted in the frame 18 is a Jack shaft 88 which carries aplurality of sprocket wheels. One of these wheels is driven by anelectric motor 81 through a chain 88. Another sprocket on shaft 88drives a chain which engages a sprocket on a second ,iack shaft 88. Thisshaft carries a sprocket which drives a chain 8| which engages asprocket 82 secured to shaft 88. A gear 88 is mounted on shaft 88 andmeshes with gear 2| on shaft I8. The transmission ratio between shaftsI8 and 88 is equal to the number of magnets II on each wheel I2 dividedby the numberof raised portions 18 in each welding wheel 18.

Secured to the bed 82 in alignment with the slot 88 therein is astandard 88 which carries a pair of feed rollers I88 and I82. Thebearings for rollers I88 are vertically displaceable in the standard 88and are urged downwardly by means of a spring the tension of which maybe adjusted by means of a setscrew I88, while the bearings for theroller I82 are fixed. Roller I82 is driven by a suitable chain or beltdrive I88 from the shaft 88 and 'a pair of gears I88 and H8 are providedfor transmitting rotary motion from the roller I82 to the roller I88.

A plurality of permanent or electro-magnets I I2 are supported from achannel II 8 by means of arms II8. These magnets II2 extend into. theslots 84 in the bed 82 in alignment with th feeding wheels I2. Eachmagnet I I2 produces a magnetic pull substantially equal to thatproduced by each of the magnets I.

The operation of the above described device is as follows:

A plurality of wires 8, pre-cut to the correct length to form thetransverse wires of the fabric, are placed in the feed hopper 28. Due tothe inclination of the bottom 22 of the hopper these wires tend to slideor roll downwardly, but the plates 28 assure that the wires lie in asingle layer at the lower end of the bottom 22. One wire at a time dropsinto the space between the end of the bottom 22, the shoulder 28 and theperipheries of wheels 21, where it remains unstil, during rotation ofthe wheels, it drops into the notches 28. Inasmuch as the notches in theseveral wheels are an angle to the shaft 28, and in this position iscarried around by the rotation of the wheels through an angle of alittle less than whereupon it leaves the notches under the influence ofboth gravity and centrifugal force, and falls on the inclined plate 28.It slides or rolls down this plate, still at an angle, and is depositedacross the feed wheels I2 to which it is held by means of the magnets H.The rotation of wheels 21 is so timed with respect to the rotation ofwheels I2, that a wire is deposited thereon just as a magnet I4 ispassing below the end of plate 28.

The wire H8, held in position at the ends of the magnets I 4, is carriedaround by the rotation of the drum. At the same time a plurality ofstrands of wire I28 are fed in the direction of the arrow I22 along thebed 82 by means of th feed rollers I88 and I82. As the transverse wire II8 is carried around by the feeding wheels I2, it is brought intocontact with strands I28, at the same time that a projection 18 on awelding wheel 18 contacts a strand so as to force the transverse wire II8 and the strand I28 into pressure contact with each other between theupper and lower welding wheels. The pressure exerted between each pairof welding wheels can be adjusted as desired by the spring adjustment 43which is also used to properly set the machine to accommodate thedifferent wire sizes used to make fabrics of different weights andstrength. However, due to the fact that the transverse wire ismaintained at an angle with respect to the axis of the welding wheels,due to the staggered relationship of the magnets I, it will be pressedbetween the different pairs of upper and lower-welding wheelssuccessively. As the wires are pressed between each pair of weldingwheels, the current flows from one wheel to the other through the wiresto effect an electric weld. Inasmuch as the welds between the transversewire and the several strands I28 take place successively, the entirecurrent output of the transformer is available for each weld and thereis no danger of unequal distribution of the current between differentwelds. Consequently, welds of a uniform nature are obtained.

The magnets II2 serve to counteract the attraction of the magnets II andconsequently serve to strip the transverse wires from the feedingwheels, thus eliminating any tendency for the transverse wires and thestrands I 28, to which they are now welded, from being pulled upwardlyaway from the bed 82.

Inasmuch as the bearings carrying the feed roller I88 are verticallydisplaceable, this roller may move upwardly a slight distance in orderto permit the cross wires II8 to pass thereunder.

Instead of having the transverse wires retained at an angle on thecarrier wheels, they may be held thereon parallel to it axis ofrotation, while the pairs of the upper and lower welding wheels areoffset so that only one pair engages the wires to be welded at a time.Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 4. The upper welding wheels 82a andthe brush discs 520 are rotationally mounted on forked arms 34awhich arepivoted at 88a to a support 88. The arms 34a as shown are all of thesame length, but the several pivot points 38a are offset with respect toeach other and with the result that the several welding wheels 32a arelikewise offset. The lower welding wheels, corresponding to wheels 18 inFigs. 1 and 2, are also offset by a similar amount. Consequently, thedifferent pairs of welding wheels will engage the wires to be welded atsuccessive instants, whereby no two welds are made at the same instantand consequently the entire output of the transformer is available foreach weld.

Obviously, if it is desired to use a separate transformer for eachpairof welding wheels, the magnets H in Fig. 2 may be in alignment on thedifferent wheels [2 so that the transverse wires are held parallel ,tothe axis of rotation. In any case, the strands I20 may be fedcontinuously and it is not necessary to interrupt their movement alongthe bed while the welding is taking place, This not only results in amore rapid fabrication but eliminates mechanism which would otherwise berequired to start and stop the feed.

While I have shown and described several embodiments of my invention itis to be understood that this has been done for the purpose ofillustration only and that the scope of my invention is not to belimited thereby, but is to be determined from the appended claims.Certain novel features of the method disclosed herein, but not claimed,form the claimed subject matter of my ccpending divisional applicationSerial No. diilsilii filed June 25, 1945.

i What is claimed:

3, In a machine for fabricating welded wire iabric, a plurality of pairsof welding wheels, cans for feeding a wire strand between the reels ofeach pair, said pairs of welding wheels ing in alignment on a lineextending at right angles to said strands, and means for successivelyplacing transverse wires across said strands and between the wheels ofsaid pairs at an angle to said strands differing from 90, whereby atransverse wire is between wheels of different pairs at differentinstants.

In a machine for fabricating welded wire fabric, a plurality of pairs ofwelding wheels, means for feedinga wire strand between the wheels ofeach pair, said pairs of welding wheels being staggered with respect toa line extending at right angles to said strands, and means forsuccessively placing transverse wires, across said strands and betweenthe wheels of said pairs at an angle of substantially 90 to saidstrands.

3. In a machine for fabricating welded wire fabric, a plurality of pairsof welding wheels, means for feeding a wire strand between the wheels ofeach pair, a plurality of feed wheels, means for placing transversewires in peripherally spaced relationship on said feed wheels, means torotate said feed wheels to bring said transverse wires to said strands,and means for releasing each transverse wire from said feed wheels whenthe transverse wire is in contact with said strands and between saidwelding wheels.

4. In a machine for fabricating welded wire fabric, a plurality of pairsof welding wheels, means for feeding a wire strand between the wheels ofeach pair, said pairs of welding wheels being in alignment on a lineextending at right angles to said strands, a plurality of feed wheels,means for placing transverse wires in peripherally spaced relationshipon said feed wheels at an angle to the axis of said feed wheels, meansto rotate said feed wheels to bring said transverse wires to saidstrands, and means for releasing each transverse wire from said feedwheels when the transverse wire is in contact with said strands andsubstantially between said welding wheels.

5. In a machine for fabricating welded wire fabric, a plurality of pairsof welding wheels, means for feeding a wire strand between the wheels ofeach pair, said pairs of welding wheels being staggered with respect toa line extending at right angles to said strands, a plurality of feedwheels, means for placing transverse wires in peripherally spacedrelationship on said feed 5 wheels parallel to the axis of said feedwheels, means to rotate said feed wheels to bring said transverse wiresto said strands, and means for releasing each transverse wire from saidfeed wheels when the transverse wire is in contact welding wheels.

6. In a machine for fabricating welded wire fabric, a plurality of pairsof welding wheels, means for feeding a wire strand between the being inalignment on a line extending at right angles to said strands, means forsuccessively placing transverse wires across said strands and betweenthe wheels of said pairs at an angle to said strands differing from 90,whereby a transverse wire is between wheels of different pairs atdifferent instants, and means for connecting said pairs of weldingwheelsin parallel across a source of electric current.

,7. In a machine for fabricating welded wire fabric, a plurality ofpairs of welding wheels, means for feeding a wire strand between thewheels of each pair, said pairs of welding wheels being staggered withrespect to a line extending at right angles to said strands, means forsuecessively placing transverse wires across said strands and betweenthe wheels of said pairs at an angle of substantially 90 to saidstrands, and means for connecting said pairs of welding wheels inparallel across a source of electric current.

8. In a machine for fabricating welded wire fabric, a plurality of pairsof welding wheels, means for feeding a wire strand between the wheels ofeach pair, a plurality ofnfeed wheels, each feedwheel being formed witha plurality of equally spaced recesses around its periphery, means forplacing a transverse wire in corresponding recesses in the difierentfeed wheels, means for rotating said feed wheels to bring said 45transverse wire to said strands, and means for releasing the transversewire from said recesses when the transverse wire is in contact with saidstrands and between said welding wheels.

' 9. In a machine for fabricating welded wire fabric, a plurality ofpairs of welding wheels,

means for'feeding a wire strand between the wheels of each pair, aplurality of feed wheels, a plurality of magnets equally spaced aroundthe periphery of each feed wheel, means for placing a transverse wire inmagnetic relationship with corresponding magnets of the different feedwheels, means for rotating said feed wheels to bring said transversewire to said strands, and means for stripping the transverse wire fromsaid magnets when the transverse wire is in contact with said strandsand between said welding wheels. I

10.- In a machine for fabricating welded wire fabric, a plurality ofpairs of welding wheels, means for feeding a wire strand between thewheels of each pair, a plurality of feed wheels, a plurality of magnetsequally spaced around the periphery of each feed wheel, means forplacing a transverse wire in magnetic relationship with correspondingmagnets of the different feed wheels, means for rotating said feedwheels to bring said transverse wire to said strands, and magnetspermanently located adjacent to where said strands pass between saidwelding wheels ,75 for counteracting the magnetic effect of the withsaid strands and substantially between said wheels ofeach pair, saidpairs of welding wheels magnets on said reed wheels to thereby strip thetransverse wire from the latter magnets when the transverse wire is incontact with said strands and between said welding wheels.

11. In a machine for fabricating welded wire I fabric, a plurality oipairs or welding wheels, one wheel of each pair having a plurality oiperipherally spaced projections, means for feeding a wire strand betweenthe wheels of each pair. a

plurality of feed wheels, means for placing trans 10 verse wires inperipherally spaced relationship on said teed wheels, means to rotatesaid feed THEODORE HAaRYwIcKwmE, Ja.

